The Dexter football team spent last week preparing for SEC White rival Tecumseh and a trip down south to face the Indians. But school officials down there wisely cancelled the game to help protect not only Tecumseh players but Dexter’s as well after a breakout of COVID-19.
Despite less than a day notice, the Dexter football team managed to find an opponent in time to fill the void. The Dreadnaughts took the three hour bus trip up north to face Gladwin.
Unfortunately, the Dreadnaughts lost 26-20 to the Flying G’s to fall to 1-2 overall on the season. Gladwin had an opening after its game with Shepherd was cancelled earlier in the week and had been looking for an opponent.
Gladwin, a small school (less than 500 students), isn’t exactly known as a football powerhouse. The Flying G’s were 1-8 last year and haven’t had a winning record since 2014. They came into the game with Dexter at 1-1, which included a close 27-20 loss to Meridian so the team has some talent in 2020.
The Dreadnaughts, who are very young at many positions following last year’s trip to the state playoffs, showed plenty of character and fight by not giving up after falling behind. Gladwin led 14-0 after the first quarter and 20-0 after a TD pass in the second quarter.
Gladwin’s first score of the game was on a 99-yard drive after stopping Dexter on a fourth and one play at the other end of the field.
But the Dreads quickly got back in the game. Colin Parachek hit Cal Bavineau on a 32-yard TD pass to put Dexter on the board. Blake Sislo kicked the extra point to cut the deficit to 20-7.
In the third quarter, Parachek completed an 8-yard TD pass to Bavineau to cut the lead to 20-14 as Sislo tacked on the extra point. The Dreadnaughts’ comeback was picking up points and momentum.
The comeback was complete when Parachek threw his third TD pass, this time to Cole Cabana to tie the game at 20-20 with about 3 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. Gladwin blocked the extra point to keep the game even.
The hosts went back ahead 26-20, scoring the winning touchdown with just 12 seconds left on the clock. Dexter completed a couple of short passes to get the ball near midfield before trying a Hail Mary pass on the game’s final play.
Parachek finished 25-38 passing for 330 yards and three scores. Cabana led the ground game with 34 yards on nine carries. Bavineau had a huge game in just his third varsity football appearance with nine catches for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brennan Parachek had three catches for 33 yards.
Dexter (1-2) lost its season opener with Chelsea but won 54-0 last week at Adrian. The Dreadnaughts are scheduled to host Lincoln on Friday before games with Jackson (Oct. 16) and Pioneer (Oct. 23) to finish the regular season.
The Railsplitters, who won just two games last season, are 2-1 on the year with wins over Adrian and Ypsilanti. They lost 37-7 to Chelsea.
